SINGAPORE – Lionesses head coach Karim Bencherifa faced a stern test in his first game in charge as world No. 134 Singapore opened their Women’s Olympic 2024 Asian Qualifiers campaign with a 6-0 defeat by Thailand at Chonburi Stadium on Saturday.

The hosts, who are five-time SEA Games champions and have featured at two World Cups, took just seven minutes to break the deadlock through forward Orapin Waenngoen’s long-range effort before Saowalak Pengngam tapped in a second in the 21st minute.

The Thais’ incisive passes carved open the Lionesses’ defence repeatedly, resulting in a flurry of goals in the second half that put the result beyond doubt.

Panittha Jeeratanapavibul latched on to Thanchanok Jansri’s perfectly weighted pass and took the ball past Singapore custodian Noor Kusumawati Rosman before tucking it into the net to seal the win for world No. 44 Thailand in the 87th minute.

The tournament is the first round of qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics, with the winners of each group advancing to the second round, and is Bencherifa’s first match since he was appointed head coach on a two-year contract on March 1.

Singapore next play world No. 128 Mongolia in their next Group D fixture on Tuesday, before Thailand face Mongolia on Friday. Sri Lanka were the fourth team in the group, but they withdrew from the tournament.

The Olympic qualifiers are part of preparations for the May 5-17 SEA Games in Cambodia. At the 2022 edition in Hanoi, the Lionesses finished third in their group and did not qualify for the semi-finals.

It was their first outing at the biennial Games since 2003 and the highlight of a creditable campaign was a 1-0 win over Laos, which was their first win at the biennial tournament since 1985.